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Baring Your Fangs
The House of Tension, Bars Chairs were being thrown around, beer mugs being shattered, you couldn't hear yourself think over the loud noises. In other words, it was a normal pirate bar. Managing to avoid all of it with great ease, a strange man in white with his face covered walked over to the one place in the establishment where this wasn't happening. He pulled up a chair and sat across from the man at his table. "Pretty rowdy place, don'tcha think?" he asked. The man seemed to ignore the approach. His large black hat, which had been decorated with a mass of red feathers, dressed the man's face in shadows. For a moment, there was only silence from the two. Mauricio Kerrim had departed from his crew for a business expedition. He wasn't to be away for too long, after all, he was to head back at this time tomorrow. However, this masked figure had approached him. "Rowdy indeed." His sentence short, aiming to end the conversation sooner rather than later. “Me, I prefer order. Like the area surrounding you. Seems a lot more calm for some reason. Like people are afraid to come near you. Wouldn’t understand why though. It’s not like you’re an infamous pirate captain! Krihahahaha!” His laughter stopped abruptly as his gaze focused on the man in front of him again. Kerrim took a sip from a cup he had ordered to the table. Unlike what most individuals would order at this type of location, Kerrim had simply gotten himself some tea. As the individual before him mention the possibility of being a Pirate, Kerrim's sipping came to a sudden stop. The man slowly and gracefully sat down his cup of tea, yet keeping his hand ever so slightly on the handle. "And let's say I was a pirate. Would you stray from me as well?" "No, no," said the man, "I'd ask how much you're worth. If you're worth a lot it's easier to tell if you're worth my time." Kerrim sipped from his tea cup yet again as the man spoke. Although a dark shadow made it nearly impossible for one to see Kerrim's face, a mauve glow would resonate from his cheeks in the shape of an odd swirl and an ember. " 200,000,000 under the epithet of Red Feather. Will you continue to annoy me, or is there a decent reason for you to be in my presence?" "Ooooo, you're worth a lot," the man stood up from the chair, walking over to the area behind Kerrim. "That means I'll get some good money when I bring you in." "Oh?" Kerrim's cup clanked as it made contact with the table, the shadow looming over his face giving in as Kerrim reared his head back in a quiet laughter. "You intend to take me in? You and what army?" "I don't need an army." The man pointed at the back of Kerrim's neck, then thrusted forward with it. "Shigan!" "You're a fool-" Kerrim spoke, a smirk on his face as he did so. A black hand would rise from the shadows, intervening in the assault. It would catch the man's finger in it's figure. Aiming to get a grip around the man's wrist to sling him into a nearby wall. As the hand formed of shadow did so, Kerrim would rise from his chair, turning to fully face his assailant. "To think I would allow someone to stand behind me, and not be on guard." The man would go on to unsheathe his rapier at blinding speeds, the light bouncing of it's shiny metal body as it did so. Turning his body at a 90 degree angle, holding the tip of his blade wherever his opponent would land. "Give me your name. Or would you rather die a nameless idiot?" A brief burst of air fired from the man’s feet, stopping him from flying towards the wall. With just a few more kicks, he soon found himself towards the ceiling of the bar. “The name’s Varanus Fang. Now this would be so much easier if you just stopped and came quietly. The walk from the last island was very long. I have enough strength left to beat you no problem, but I avoid conflict when necessary.” Kerrim watched as the man, Fang, used his strength to somehow avoid collision with the wall. He'd seen these techniques somewhere before, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember where. "You're talking about things you don't know. I would've let you walk away, but now you've insulted my reputation." As Kerrim stood, he was a man who valued influence. For Fang to stand before him and insult the influence he held on the world, he insulted Kerrim's values as a whole. And the Pirate wouldn't stand for it. Fang continued hopping on the air and sighed. “Fine. But can we at least take this outside. It’s a crappy bar, but it’d be wasteful to destroy it.” Kerrim rotated his sword to the point that the tip of the blade was now facing the ground. A glint flared from his eye as he looked down, his dagger-like teeth coming into view. "It would be wasteful indeed. Yes, quite a waste." Kerrim spoke. Shadows spiraled down the blade of Mistilteinn, Kerrim's prized rapier. Coiling down the length of the steel, the ever lingering shadows would reach the floor, rapidly spreading throughout the entirety of the bar. Within seconds, shadows painted a mass majority of the walls, floors and tables of the building. "I too believe, that this bar is a waste of space." Pushing his sword into the floor, Kerrim's shadows acted to the movement, as if it were a command. Within an instant, the creeping shadows turned into massive masses of spikes. They penetrated and demolished the entirety of the building, bringing the walls and all down upon all those within. And had it not been for Kerrim's Logia abilities, he too would've been crushed. "Now we're outside." Fang pushed off the lumber covering his body from the technique. He stretched a little, looking around briefly at the rubble. He started scratching the back of his head. “I hope the lumber gets reused, although you probably ruined all the food and drinks. And the people inside... I hope a lot of them have bounties or else I’ll have to dispose the of the bodies...” He suddenly stopped talking. “Oh right, I should take care of you first. Soru!” He disappeared in a flash, appearing in front of Kerrim and aiming a punch to his gut. After having demolished the building, Kerrim had caused his body to face Fang's head on. This was a fault on his part, as losing the 90 degree angle left too much of his body open to target. Nevertheless, the man had been in less desirable instances, and he knew how to react. After all, what Kerrim prided most amongst his swordsmanship, or his physical capabilities in general, was his speed and reflexes. He was able to quickly raise Mistilteinn to intercept Fang's assault, the true edge of the blade coming into contact with Fang's skin, likely leaving a cut in it's place. However, Kerrim wouldn't end it there. Putting his free hand against the false edge of Mistilteinn's length, he pushed against the blade, and by extension, Fang. This may have deepened the cut, or not effected his opponent in general, but in the end, it was merely Kerrim pushing against his opponent to put distance between them. Once the gap had been put into place, Kerrim raised the sword to the point the blade's length ascended his hat. "Fast." Kerrim spoke, a small black orb manifested at the tip of the sword, and in one fell swoop, Kerrim launched it forward at Fang. Midway through it's journey, it branched into multiple linear projectiles of shadow that could pierce skin with ease, much as it would do to a stray building nearby. "Stance 21 — Branching Paths!" "Tekkai!" Fang called as his fist made contact with his opponent's blade, it more so clanging harmlessly against him without decreasing the force of his punch. Fang looked up at Kerrim's assault. He squinted a little bit. "Okay then. Geppo!" with the speed of Soru, he launched himself upwards above Kerrim, avoiding his attack. He began to hop in midair, both feet at a time. "Are you sure you don't want to just come quietly. Stamina's just as important a commodity as anything, and it'd be a shame for you to waste it fighting me." Kerrim positioned his body once more at a 90 degree angle, keeping most of his body hidden from a frontal assault as he should've done in the first place. "Molto veloce." Kerrim spoke, noting that Fang had avoided his attack with seeming ease. The Pirate continued to keep his stance, yet lifting his head to look up at Fang who rested above him. "Yes, indeed. But keep in mind, you've done much more moving than I have. I've only moved roughly five feet from where I was when we started. I'd be much more worried of your stamina than you should be of mine." Pulling Mistilteinn back, as if in preparation to stab, Kerrim allowed another black mass of shadow to generate at it's tip. He would then thrust it forward, aiming at Fang's torso. Although the blade itself wouldn't reach Fang's location, the shadow would elongate to make the voyage for it. Adopting the shape of the sword, yet taking a much more darker color, Kerrim used his Stance 1 — Extending World in yet another attempt to stab his opponent into submission. The shadow glided through the air with relative speed and ease, the wind parting and giving way not only to the hast of the dark matter, but also to it's immense stabbing potential. It was as if they were warning Fang that this was a battle he couldn't win. "Eh, I haven't really been trying that hard yet. Been probing you." Fang bent his legs, preparing another jump. A small puff appeared under him as hopped, turning himself upside-down. He brought his leg down in a sweeping motion, sending a vertical wave of slashing wind down towards Kerrim. "Rankyaku!" The wave traveled towards Kerrim's own technique, intending to cut it in half on its way down towards his true target. Observing the incoming Rankyaku, Kerrim allowed the middle section of his attack to soften, causing the attack to glide through it like butter. A cheeky smile was on the Pirate's face as he watched the display, allowing himself to find joy in Fang's foolishness. Suddenly, the shadows of Kerrim's Extending World would tense up yet again. The Rankyaku had only made it half way through the shadows before it was crushed by the brute strength of Kerrim's shadow engulfing it. The tip of the Extending World however, remained split. Instead of piecing them back together, Kerrim instead allowed for the shadows to form two completely separate tips. Said tips came at Fang in unison, one coming down from the top, and the other from the bottom, limiting the number of directions Fang would be capable of escaping from. Fang bent his legs once again, beginning to fall slightly as he stopped his hopping. He pushed off the air again, moving to the side this time. He continued hopping, moving at speed equivalent to Soru, moving directly above Kerrim. He began to fall again, bending his legs down as he entered the position for a long jump. "Geppo "Kushu!" He jumped off the air, flying much higher than before, but the real effect was what happened below. A shockwave of compressed air was sent down into the ground below him, right on top of Kerrim. Fang's tactics had simply remained the same. Dodging, and attempting a futile assault. Quite a boring and repetitive match to say the less. The man's shockwave would come at Kerrim, the man unbothered by it's threat. His Extending World would combine back into one after missing their target. Instead of continuing a pointless chase after Fang, it's trajectory would instead cleave the shockwave straight through the middle, dispersing all of the force and leaving Kerrim unharmed. The man looked up, this had been child's play. "You say you're not trying. Is that supposed to make you seem more impressive to me?" Kerrim ran a hand down the length of Mistilteinn's blade, ignoring Fang's presence as he did so. "You're a fool to not take any and all matches you walk into serious from the start. All you've done is slow the rate your energy will drain, but elongating the time it'll take to finish the battle. In the long run, you consume more energy doing your probing than if you had just gone all out from the start." Raising Mistilteinn to point it directly at Fang's position, it seemed to have streaks of black randomly scattered across it's blade on all sides. "Not trying hard? Just a cowards way of making themselves seem more formidable." Kerrim spoke, ending his sentence, the black streaks on his sword would spring to life, taking the form of a dozen snakes constructed of shadow. "You're a nuisance." Using his Stance 10 — Serpente Ombra, Kerrim allowed these snakes to feast upon Fang. Unlike any of his previous attacks, avoiding this would be out of Fang's capabilities. When intangible, shadows have speed that could even compare to that of light, or even surpassing it. Even further, Kerrim had marked Fang earlier in the match with a small shadow on his fist, this small shadow serving as a beacon that the snakes just had to hunt down. Their speed was out of Fang's capability to dodge, and even if he could, they would simply follow him in hunt of the umbral tattoo. Lastly, before impact would be made, the snakes would easily adopt a tangible form to pierce Fang on multiple fronts. “I don’t consider my holding back a boast, just a fact. If I kill my targets right from the get go, they don’t pay me as much.” The shadows flew upwards towards Fang. He floated in midair, for just a second or two, before the shadows began to envelop him. There was simply a mass of black in the sky for everyone to see. In but a few more seconds, something massive flew out of the sky, right in front of Kerrim. It was massive, black, and a few flecks of blood flew out and into Kerrim’s face. From the crater formed rose a large creature. The black surrounding it seemed to disappear. “'Tekkai: Buso!' A monster arose from the rubble right in front of Kerrim. It was so fast no one could even tell that this was still Fang. “'Toka Toka no Mi, Model: Komodo Dragon...'” Fang made a claw with his hand, then jabbed towards his opponent. Shigan ‘Ryu no Kagizume!’” The sudden crash caused a moderately powerful shock through the area. Kerrim felt it, but it wouldn't cause any harm since it hadn't been one designed with intent to harm. Kerrim could simply take not of it, and move on to the bigger picture. The blood would phase through the man's body, after all Kerrim was a man who would rather keep himself in a tidy manner. He wouldn't allow blood to soil his gracing appearance. The reptile would rise from the hole it had seemingly been born from. A stoic expression on Kerrim's face as he observed the new challenge. Fang had towered over Kerrim before, but with this transformation, he was well beyond the size of Kerrim himself. Nevertheless, it failed to matter. As far as Kerrim was concerned, this was the same cocky fool who thought he could stand a chance against the Pirate Captain. "Forte." Kerrim spoke to himself, he had still been in his 90 degree angle, which isolated the regions of the body Fang could strike for. Nevertheless, what few Fang did have a clear strike for, Kerrim had to defend. He brought his rapier to block the assault. The lower half of Mistilteinn's blade is what Fang found a majority of his claws striking. Nevertheless, while Kerrim was able to defend against the attack, Fang's physical strength far surpassed his own at this point. Once more, Kerrim found his body being pushed back by the greater physique of his opponent. He didn't let that dwindle him however. In the end, it just served to better his chances by adding distance. Next, Kerrim would bring Mistilteinn back up to the point it surpassed his head yet again. His eyes stayed on Fang, keeping the same tone he had before. Fang would find himself being drowned by an ominious force for but a second. Something that, even in it's short duration, warned him to step down before it was too late. Suddenly, from Kerrim's body, the black energy of his devil fruit leaked into the atmosphere. Kerrim let it settle for a moment, before he'd go through with his next assault. "Stance 16 — Incision Typhoon." Kerrim called out, moving Mistilteinn to face Fang's direction. The black energy would turn into that of a powerful funnel that aimed to swallow Fang in it's entirety. If it hit, it would shower Fang's skin in all manners of cuts and slashes from the deadly winds. And at the end of the funnel, Kerrim wasn't present in the slightest. No. He had become one with the typhoon formed of shadow. But why? Kerrim had used his Logia intangibility to meld his body with the attack. However, his true intention was that this was the function of Incision Typhoon. He would use the incredible speed of his intangible state and the sharpness of Mistilteinn's tip to build enough power to deliver a cut that even Fang's body would fall prey to. However, there was the issue of the man's Tekkai Buso. And Kerrim had the answer. Using his own Armament Haki, which was of an impressive caliber, Kerrim would be able to overpower and completely overwhelm the defense Fang had thrown up. Fang crossed his arms over his chest as the funnel flew towards him. His entire body tensed up as his scales turned black and hardened as his Haki coated his entire body. "Tekkai 'Buso'!"" The winds rode over Fang's body. He gritted his teeth, his feet slid back in the dirt, but his body remained resolute. It was then, that his Kenbunshoku Haki warned him. Warned him of the incoming danger at the end of this storm of shadows. He couldn't dodge, not without disengaging his Tekkai. He could only hope. The slash went across his arms, the immense force sending him flying backwards. More blood spurt from the giant slash mark across his arms. He landed on the ground with a massive thud, kicking up dust. His skin went back to normal as his body shifted back into his normal form. He laid on the ground, his sweat mixing with the blood, yet his expression, readable from his eyes, was more annoyed than anything. "This was not a job with 200,000,000..." After the attack subsided, Kerrim had become visible once again, his coat and hat feather flapping in the wind that Kerrim generated ever so slightly. His poster clearly suggested that he had brought a piercing strike towards Fang, and he seemed to have leaned into it with all his might. The Pirate would stand back up to his full height, swiftly and elegantly placing Mistilteinn back into it's sheathe. "Varanus Fang, was it?" Kerrim spoke, looking towards the man who challenged him. He held his head up with a confidence, asserting his authority once more, after all it was the only way to ensure that future rebellion won't come. "Join my crew." Kerrim spoke blankly, looking Fang dead on. "Power like yours has gone untamed for too long. I'll see to it that your potential is fully realized." Fang still laid on the ground. He was more surprised to hear what Kerrim had said than anything else. He turned his head towards the pirate captain, letting his confusion be known. "I get that trying to kill you might not be a complete dealbreaker when it comes to recruiting crew mates, but you know I use to be a marine officer, right? Even if I did join you, whose to say I wouldn't just bide my time until I could finally kill you?" Kerrim chuckled slightly at Fang's questions. "You made two assumptions there. One, you assumed I'm not aware of your status as a former Marine. I've made it a note to memorize all faces who serve under the World Government. And it's due to you once serving as a Marine that makes me want to recruit you." Kerrim would then pull a handkerchief from within his coat. It was black, like the rest of his attire, but it had the decal of a rabbit similar to that of the crew's jolly roger. "Second, you assumed I haven't dealt with traitors before. The moment I feel you're getting out of control, I will make your last moments a living hell. Now, will you join my crew?" Fang got to his feet, dusting himself off. "My mother would be so disappointed in me..." he started to stroke his chin in thought. "Fine, I'll join your crew, but you'll have to give me a few minutes first." Fang laboriously walked over to the demolished bar, picking up a few planks of wood. He dragged one of the bodies from the rubble, checking his post and ensuring that he was dead. "Yeah, this'll do." He sat down onto the ground and began kindling with the planks of, the great speed he could move at created a flame almost instantly with a stick. And at that, he began to roast the dead person. "I ran over here from the previous island as soon as I heard you were here. I haven't eaten all day and I burned a lot of calories, so I am understandably famished." Kerrim gave a brief nod, extending his hand to shake Fang's own as an official welcome. "I'm sure you'll-" Opening his eyes fully, Kerrim would notice that Fang had vanished from his aforementioned location. Then, the scent of smoke and flames would catch the man's attention. Quickly turning to the source, his eyes would lay upon the ex-Marine cooking a human corpse. Jaw dropped to the floor in a highly comedic fashion, Kerrim couldn't believe his eyes in the slightest. "That is absolutely disgusting!" The man shouted, questioning how he'd ended up with yet another weirdo in his crew. Category:Role-Plays Category:Finished Role-Plays